House begins NDAA debate — SASC continues its markup — Pentagon waiting for State’s order to evacuate U.S. embassy

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LOTS OF NDAA ACTION YESTERDAY: The House began debate of the National Defense Authorization Act, while the Senate Armed Services Committee began marking up its version of the bill. Expect the House to pass this thing very soon. As for the Senate … don’t hold your breath. You might be toasting in 2015 by the time that happens. But let’s not despair just yet — here are some of the highlights so far:

— IN THE ‘NOT-A-SURPRISE’ DEPARTMENT, SASC REJECTS BRAC: For a third straight year, the committee moved to block a new round of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in its defense bill. The provision was in the Readiness Subcommittee markup approved on a voice vote.

“We once again make clear that nothing in the bill shall be construed to authorize a future base realignment and closure,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the New Hampshire Democrat who chairs the panel.

LEVIN SAYS HE’S FOUND A WAY TO SAVE THE A-10: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told reporters yesterday an amendment with his backing will be offered during the full committee markup to fund the A-10s in fiscal 2015, reversing the Air Force’s plans to retire the fleet.

Where’s the money going to come from to pay for the planes? Details to come, Levin said, offering two clues: It will come from more than one source and is not from war funding, unlike the measure approved by the House Armed Services Committee.

GOHMERT PULLS HIS GUNS-ON-BASES MEASURE: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) had proposed an amendment that would allow more DoD personnel to openly carry firearms on military installations, but last night he decided to pull it, The Hill’s Cristina Marcos reports. http://goo.gl/7A1fKt

Retired Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and former Rep. Gabbby Giffords’ husband, came out strongly against the proposal yesterday, saying it undercuts established military policy.

“Congressman Louie Gohmert’s amendment forces our military to do something that the Pentagon and base commanders have said over and over won’t make our soliders any safer: permit military personnel to carry loaded guns openly on bases,” Kelly, who’s also Founder of Veterans for Responsible Solutions, said in a statement.

NEED THE FULL LIST? To keep up with today’s NDAA debate in the House, here is a full list of the amendments approved by the House Rules Committee and the order in which they’ll come up: http://1.usa.gov/RT4QyU

The New Jersey Republican complained he had infrequent contact with Hagel. “If one committee controlled your entire budget,” he said, “I think you might make some effort to build up personal relationships. I think it is a no-brainer.”

But sometime between the interview and publication of the story, Hagel managed to smooth things over. Frelinghuysen told POLITICO’s Austin Wright yesterday that he no longer has any concerns. “Whatever there had been in the way of lack of communication has been certainly made up substantially in the recent past,” the congressman said.

— HOW’D THAT HAPPEN SO FAST? Frelinghuysen said Hagel visited him in his House office after his interview with Bloomberg but before the article was published. “I think somebody called [Hagel] about it or something” he said.

LIBYA UPDATE: At a Pentagon briefing yesterday, Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby confirmed some details about the team of Marines positioned in Sigonella, Sicily, in case of emergency.

“Right now, there's a total of about 250 Marines there on Sicily; seven Ospreys; three C-130s as part of this air-to-ground task force. They are there as a precaution … to be able to be in a posture and in a location that should they be needed in North Africa, specifically Libya, that they would be ready to do so.” http://1.usa.gov/1qUcr0b

— IT’S A POST-BENGHAZI WORLD: “This is part of what we consider the new normal,” Kirby said. “You know, one of the things that we learned from Benghazi was the need to have an agile footprint, you know, that you can move quickly to address just these kinds of issues in North Africa.”

But it’s up to the State Department to make the call when to evacuate U.S. embassy personnel in Tripoli, he added.

— ELECTIONS SCHEDULED: With the hope of reaching a peaceful resolution to all the violence, Libya's election commission set new parliamentary elections for June 25, reports AP’s Esam Mohamed. http://apne.ws/1m2VStF

SPOTTED: SHINSEKI AND HAGEL … ON THE HILL … TOGETHER! When VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Hagel were seen together yesterday on Capitol Hill it caused a small buzz. But before the rumor mill spun out of control, the Pentagon released a statement.

“Today, Secretary Hagel and Secretary Shinseki met with the House appropriators to discuss how both departments continue to work toward the interoperability between their health records systems,” Kirby said in a statement. “The meeting was very productive and both secretaries appreciated the opportunity to jointly speak with the House Appropriators about how DoD and VA are working together to fundamentally and positively impact the health outcomes of active duty military, veterans and beneficiaries."

UPDATED WHITE HOUSE SCHEDULE: The president has added a mid-morning meeting in the Oval Office with Shinseki and deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors, who has been dispatched to the VA as a troubleshooter, to, as the White House announced, “receive an update on the situation at the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

WE’LL LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LEGAL JUSTIFICATION FOR KILLING AMERICAN TERRORISM SUSPECTS OVERSEAS, reports POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein: To help secure the confirmation of one of its judicial nominees, the Obama administration is agreeing to make public an edited memo the former Justice Department official wrote to justify the legality of killing an American terror suspect overseas. http://politi.co/1gjB1TD

“Tuesday’s about-face is the the latest in an administration pattern of insisting on the confidentiality of legal advice — but relenting or compromising when important nominations are at stake,” Gerstein writes.

— MEANWHILE, THE CIA’s VERSION OF THE BAY OF PIGS IS BEING KEPT SECRET: “The Central Intelligence Agency has the right to keep secret a draft history of its involvement with the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion more than five decades ago, a split federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday,” Gerstein reports. http://politi.co/RSytAo

A NEW PLACE TO EAT: Apparently, Robert Irvine, host of the TV show Restaurant Impossible, is opening a new restaurant in the Pentagon. Or at least the Food Network star said so via Twitter.

But this was all news to Kirby yesterday, who was asked by Defense News’ Marcus Weisgerber whether he knew anything about it.

“Listen, as a guy who spends 12 to 14 hours a day here, I welcome a new place to eat,” Kirby said, asking for the celebrity chef’s name. Weisgerber explained that Irvine’s show takes him to restaurants that are struggling.

“Then I'm sure we can use his assistance here,” Kirby said. “He'll fit right in.”

— Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak, has been sentenced to three years in prison. Al Jazeera: http://aje.me/1gNZuAZ

— An independent panel advising the Pentagon says the U.S. needs to develop a U.S. rocket engine so that it has more options, bolstering SpaceX ‘s Elon Musk’s warnings. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1lE0Jyx

— The office of the VA inspector general says 26 facilities are now being investigated following complaints of falsified records and manipulated wait times. AP: http://goo.gl/lRoSNv

— Nabors is headed to Phoenix, where the secret waiting lists were first reported. CNN: http://cnn.it/1thhlSI

— A former U.S. Navy computer systems administrator and his accomplice have pleaded guilty of conspiring to hack into Navy computer systems. AP: http://goo.gl/wWIqpC

— Following the Justice Department’s cyberspying charges on Monday, China suspended a joint working group on cybersecurity with the U.S. USA Today: http://usat.ly/1mTizll

— The hacking techniques used by the Chinese were relatively basic and involved “tricking employees into opening email attachments or clicking on innocent-looking website links.” AP: http://1.usa.gov/1oQWFBl

— If the U.S. is going to keep up with cyber criminals, the FBI may have to ease its restrictions against hiring people who smoke marijuana, according to FBI Director James Comey. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1i0BmWn

— WENNERGREN JOINS PSC: Former DoD official and current CACI Vice President Dave Wennergrenwill be joining theProfessional Services Council as senior vice president of technology policy. Before leaving government in 2013, he was the Navy’s chief information officer, Pentagon deputy chief information officer and Pentagon assistant deputy chief management officer. He is expected to start June 9.